Introducing: Christine Kipiriri

Christine Kipiriri, 21, Burundi

What did you do before AMFI?

When I came from primary school I went to high school.  I already knew that I wanted to become a fashion designer, so there were two options: I could go to MBO school for fashion design or go further with Havo and from there go to a HBO education. So I chose to do Havo for 2 more years. After these 2 years I needed to think about which design school I wanted to go. I took a year off and followed a course at Artez. Here I went 1 day a week to school for half a year. I realized that I wanted to go to Amsterdam, because Arnhem didn't give me the right feeling that I was looking for. From there on I decided to do AMFI fashion&design.

Why did you want to do the honors program?

Honors program was something I heard about in first year of AMFI, but I didn't really knew what it was. It seemed to be so far away, but before I knew the opportunity to join the program was there. When I heard about it I was motivated to get into a higher level of fashion design and knowledge. This gave me the drive to get into the program.

Who is your favorite designer?

When people ask me about my favorite fashion designer, I always struggle with the fact that there isn't one specific designer, I think at the moment there are several designers who inspire me, by vision and designs: Celine and JW Anderson

What inspires you at the moment?

At the moment I get inspired by people with stories that impress. I am always interested in human emotions and rights. My concept now is about the universe and the planets. When I think about it, it surprises me each time how big the universe is and how spacious the world is where we live in. There is so much to offer, but in this world there are a lot of restrictions and rules. In my world there will be freedom and warmth for everybody. No distinguishing in people, this motivation and inspiration comes from my own background. Being refugee and traveler. At this moment there are a lot of people running away for misery, so my concept is about refugees who are seeking for beauty in the infinite universe and their world.

What  are your strengths?

My strength at the moment is playing with fabric around the body, draping, folding and pattern creation. I like to make shapes out of fabric and with this create interesting new patterns. Besides that I like to get into colour combination, finding the right balance in colours.

What do you want to achieve at the end of the honors program?

At the end of honors program I would like to find new insights in fashion. That means how to create a strong collection in a short time. Also a better understanding of what fashion means to me. With this knowledge I just like to have fun with my group and enjoy the whole honors program experience.